The Texas Book Festival

More than 40,000 attendees line the streets of downtown to take part in  a weekend of  readings, presentations, panel discussions, book signings and musical entertainment at the State Capitol. The festival was established by former First Lady Laura Bush in 1995, and it serves to honor Texas authors, promote reading and literacy, and benefit state libraries. Today, the festival has reached national acclaim, bringing more than 200 authors from Texas and across the country to the streets of Austin.

Texas Writer Award Winners
The Texas Writer Award is given to a Texas writer in recognition of his or her outstanding literary achievement. This year, it will be awarded to both Stephen Harrigan and Lawrence Wright.

Stephen Harrigan
Remember Ben Clayton
Stephen Harrigan is the author of the bestselling The Gates of the Alamo and the recently published Remember Ben Clayton. He is an Austin resident and is a founding member of the Texas Book Festival, and of Capital Area Statues Inc. a nonprofit organization that commissions and raises money for monumental works of sculpture celebrating the history and culture of Texas.

Lawrence Wright
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
Lawrence Wright graduated from Tulane University and spent two years teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker and a fellow at the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. He has authored six works of nonfiction, written a novel, Godfather’s Favorite, and was co-writer of the movie The Siege. The Looming Tower was the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.

Editor’s Must-See Choices

Louis Lambert dishes up his signature recipes from his new book, Big Ranch, Big City Cookbook, Recipes from Lambert’s Texas Kitchens.

Preston Lauterbach author of The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll. A must for ATX Man music aficionados.

For information on the date and time of panels and sessions go to
texasbookfestival.org.